


Abrupt Apologies

by DxTURA



Series: Syphiki and the Ice Princess [2]
Category: Mabinogi (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-22 09:56:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20872316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DxTURA/pseuds/DxTURA
Summary: When Syphiki hears that Tara is under attack, he has no choice but to go investigate.





	Abrupt Apologies

**Author's Note:**

> Yet another gift for the lovely @iggycakes! I've been on a kick of shipping our characters forever, and Avery means the world to me SOOO HERE I AM!!

When Syphiki received a call to Tara from Leifon and the other royal alchemists, he expected nothing out of the ordinary. He was used to his frequent drops into the Shadow Realm and Fomorians wreaking havoc where they saw fit. He was used to doing some sort of fetch quest for Roarasone, and maybe a couple of spars with Nalik.

What he didn’t expect, however, was Leifon giving him  _ no  _ sort of debriefing other than “you’re not going to like what you see” while they walked into a congealed Tara.

To say Tara’s infrastructure was always regal and boisterous in wealth was an understatement. The citizens did what they could to keep it pretty, and often used their riches to maintain this new, yet rural feeling these old walls held. It was something Syphiki was never fond of, but grew to respect.

With that in mind, Syphiki was sure that the icicles plunged into castle walls, shattered windows, and splitting the market board into two was  _ not  _ some newfound decorating tips they had received from Simon or something.

And sure enough, the small boy’s hunches were confirmed after he sidestepped an ice spear aimed in his direction. It snagged his dress a little, but it was better than being pierced directly in the heart. He looked into the direction it came from, and - to no surprise - found a figure standing there with a large staff in their hands.

At first glance, he was sure his suspicions were correct. It probably escaped the realm and was looking to ruin everything in its wake. Yet, when he looked again he realized something about the figure was… familiar to him: long hair to the hips, bright, blue eyes, pink hair…  _ wait _ .

Pink hair.  _ PINK hair? _

There was only  _ one  _ person he knew with that recognizable fashion sense, and he relaxed his stance upon realizing such.

A small sigh left his lips, “Einhart, if this is some sort of prank, it needs to end.  _ Now _ .”

Syphiki expected her to jump from the building, say “just kidding” in her typical, pollyannic tone, and that be the end of that. What he  _ didn’t  _ expect was for her to lunge forward and slam him into the ground with her staff’s shaft. Hell, anymore force and she could’ve knocked him out!

Once his slide against the concrete came to a stop, Ein jumped back and surged mana into the staff’s crystal.

Syphiki stumbled onto his knees, one hand clutched his stomach while the other was planted on the ground. He couldn’t help the chuckle that slipped from him.

“Pour some more vitriol on that wound, why don’tcha?” The boy was now back on his feet. “When they reported that this town was falling into ruin, I was expecting something else. I wasn’t expecting  _ you _ of all people to be wrecking your hometown, Ein.”

The pink mage scowled, her magic now assembled into pointy ice shards that homed into Syphiki upon her command.

Oh no she wasn’t. He wasn’t going to let her have the advantage again. With a snap of his fingers, Syphiki was armed and ready with two cylinders strapped against both of his arms. He jumped towards them, cocked it with a fire crystal, and unleashed a powerful flame against them all. 

As the vapor hissed and puffed, he pressed a tiny button on the bottom of both cylinders and let them fall off his wrists. What now replaced them was his trusty chain blade that safely guarded both of his tiny arms.

_ Yes, this will do just fine _ . He thought.

Syphiki launched his chain against the ground, and pulled his weight towards the angered Einhart. His free hand aimed for the staff and gripped it with enough force for him to frontflip in her direction.

If Einhart was  _ any  _ form of normal, Syphiki was sure that she would’ve made a flirtatious comment by now. But she wasn’t. She  _ hasn’t  _ been. The amount of mana coming from her was absurd. Uncontrollable. Unstable. It was too much all at once, and he couldn’t figure out why.

_ Too much all at once _ , he thought to himself,  _ too much all at once _ .

_ Shit _ .

Syphiki recalled the day at the Tara library all too vividly; he was known to make pokes and jabs at her - not so much out of  _ fun  _ as it was in earnest - and it was the one time his comment was so blunt that it crushed her spirits. He wasn’t sure how to go about it, either. He was about to apologize, but then she snapped back like nothing ever happened. She was cheerful, kind, and then left to grab them lunch without another word.

Every other time he spoke with her after that, she tried to reassure him that nothing was wrong. Everything was “okay,” and she always said she knew it was her fault for bringing up the discussion to begin with. Then she went missing, and would sporadically pop in to see him. She’d seem a little different each time, but he never said anything about it. 

Maybe he  _ should  _ have opened his mouth. Maybe he  _ should  _ have confronted her.

Ein broke Syphiki out of his addled thoughts after flinging him into the wall with a well-timed Blaze. Her onslaught didn’t stop there, though; one moment she on top of the building, the next moment she threw a pair of thunderbolts against his chest. 

Then she knocked him away with a fireball. More ice after that.

Where did she learn to hone this magic? Was she holding back this entire time? Did she suddenly take lessons from Suzy? It’s not like it mattered, anyway; Syphiki still found himself scarred, bloodied, and crumpled against pieces of debris. 

Right as he pulled himself back onto his feet, Ein pulled him into the air by the throat. Her grip was constrictive, but not vise. She wasn’t strangling him, but she was  _ definitely  _ trying to put him in some sort of place. He avoided eye contact with her.

She glowered, but all went silent. It was then that Syphiki believed he had the floor.

“Well,” He half-heartedly chuckled, “when you said you were trying to be ‘too much all at once,’ I wasn’t expecting you to trash an entire city.”

Einhart sustained her silence.

“Your powers, your consequences… don’t think I don’t notice, Ein. Look at you. Look at everything.” It hurt to speak, but he had to try. “You became too much, alright; you became  _ so _ much, in fact, that you let hatred taint you. Something - no, some _ one  _ hurt you very much, didn’t they?”

Einhart winced and her grip slackened; Syphiki touched a nerve, and he was going to  _ keep  _ prodding it until he found answers.

“I’m to blame for that, aren’t I?” His long sigh, for once, was not riddled with irritation. “You and I are alike in so many ways; we take on many burdens, but we refuse to let anyone know. We refuse to let anyone help us and we suffer in the long run.”

“Why let people approach? Why let them get close? Why allow them to bond with you, when everything before us can vanish in seconds?”

Syphiki reached forward and placed his hands on top of hers. He could’ve sworn her hands trembled, but not wasn’t the time to point it out.

“I don’t expect you to forgive me, nor do I expect you to listen my words so easily, but...” He closed his eyes and lowered his head. “For what it is worth: I am sorry, Einhart. I am sorry for not seeing your pain sooner, for not helping you, and...”

His voice cracked; he stumbled over his words.

“I am sorry for pushing you away when you needed me the most.”

After that little speech, Syphiki expected Ein to howl into the wind and destroy him. Well, destroy him as much as you could  _ any  _ Milletian, but destroy him all the same. He  _ wanted  _ Ein to pierce his heart with a couple of ice spears. Freeze him and throw him into the ocean. Make him suffer just as he did to her, and yet.

Yet, all he found was his body on the floor and Ein’s face covered in her pale, scarred hands.

She howled, alright, but not the one a wolf would do before attacking his prey. No, she sobbed and sobbed and her body quaked with such an intensity that even  _ Syphiki himself  _ could feel his skin prickle. Prickle like snow touching his arms when he’d walk through Sidhe Sneachta without coats and pants.

Einhart was overwhelmed, and Syphiki was stumped on how to help her fight the sudden outrage and woe. He received slaps from his own friends whenever he spiraled into the dark, but he was also very aware that something like that could easily backfire on him. Also, it just wouldn’t feel right. He could hear Surezan converting him into a puddle if he even  _ tried  _ something of that caliber.

His mind wasn’t working; why were emotions so complicated? Think, Syphiki,  _ think _ !

And then. It hit him.

Syphiki took one deep breath and grasped Einhart’s hands delicacy and grace. Though she tried to hold them in place, he countered with a quick yank and placed her hands against his knees.

Just as she was about to shout at him, Syphiki dove forward and planted his lips against her own.

Yes, her nose was running. Yes, she had tears blotting her dark red face, but did that stop him? No. In fact, instead of letting her pull away he solidified his hold with locked fingers between her own.

Honestly, he couldn’t tell if her face was red from the contact or red from the crying. Or both. But it didn’t matter. He needed to leave the stoicism aside and let her know how much he really cared.

After all, this boy had lived his life with too many regrets. If it were any other situation – any other _dilemma –_ _maybe _he would’ve just left things up to chance.

But Syphiki couldn’t lose another loved one.

Not again.


End file.
